2012 kia rio 1 air 1.1crdi
Discussion
bit late to the party but will get onto that later on in the post this will be a long read as I'm catching up on 7 years with this car
bought this in march 2013 as a ex demo model with 400 miles on it for £10995. the model is spec 1 with the addition of air conditioning. so entry level spec with Bluetooth and aircon. funny thing was I actually went to the wrong dealer and was originally looking at a 2010 kia ceed diesel. the headline figures that won me over are free tax, insurance was peanuts, up to 88mpg. 7 year/100k mile warranty
came from a list of warm/hot hatches, the missus had just given birth to our first son and we were looking to get a house together so I ran the car for 2 years/20k miles. I genuinely thought the fuel gauge was broke for the first week of ownership as I was used to 200-250 miles to a tank full in previous cars. this car has seen 600 average to 40 litres of fuel and even upwards towards 800miles when taken on a long run. one thing I have noticed is running aircon has quite a big effect on fuel economy
there were some niggles most in the first 12 months but these were all sorted under warranty and at no expense to me
dashboard rattle x3
pedal box loose
sump gasket failed x2
wing mirror innards failed
interior light unit replaced
glow plugs failed
rear window regulators failed
injector seals leaking
boot struts weak
ball joint
eventually the car became my missus and I moved into sheds (106, 6x ignis, swift, fabia vrs) she has put a further 80k miles on the car.
I added cruise control to the car using genuine parts. interestingly I had to order from kia South Korea direct as UK dealers didn't recognise the part numbers in their systems. everything plug & play cost £52 delivered including import tax's etc...
second addition was a tuning box. every year going on holidays down south I would dread the a30 hills with the car fully loaded it just didn't have enough grunt to navigate them safely in my opinion. DTUK box was fitted and set on middle setting which made a reasonable difference to mid range grunt but no difference to economy.
bought a spare wheel kit for around £105 (no spare is just asking for trouble in my opinion)
car has been serviced every 10k using genuine parts and following the kia schedule service sheets
interim service oil, oil filter & pollen filter every 10k miles
major service every 20k carrying out the above and also fuel filter, air filter, brake fluid change, aircon re-gas, brakes stripped, cleaned & re-greased, wipers all round
car has never seen a main dealer for servicing and was never once rejected for warranty work. they asked to see the service book and invoices for the oil leaks to be rectified
interestingly dealers do not change the oil every 10k. its every 20k and major service is every 40k. I know a master tech in kia who informed me the big intervals were causing more problems than solving. given the cars reputation for dumping fuel into the sump after failed regens I decided every 10k miles would be best for longitivity
service bits are cheap but ive noticed anything that is unlikely to be covered by warranty is absolute stupid money. the aftermarket has started to cater for kias now the first batch of the 7year warranty cars come to the end of the warranty
on the kia forums, rising oil levels between servicing are a regular problem. mine did this once in-between services and was traced to a duff glow plug thus not doing regens as and when it should. it had to go in twice for this to be found as the cause. I had to diagnose the duff plug myself and tell them to test the plugs to acknowledge there was a fault present.
touch wood in over 100k miles we've not had a terminal DPF related problem the car does a passive regen every 250 miles or so and I check the live data pretty regular so I can catch any faults before the DPF gives any problems
consumables its had a set of front tyres every 20k miles approx. (I change them at approx. 3mm) backs every 40k miles although they had decent tread (5mm) they were cracking in the tread quite badly. car is still running the OEM Hankook tyres from new although they are now latest revision k435 instead of k425 & running 185/65/15 they certainly don't break the bank at replacement time
1 set of front discs & pads
2 sets of rear discs & pads
clutch changed at 90k miles due to heavy clutch pedal and worn/weak pressure plate
items that have required replacement not covered under warranty
oil level sensor damaged took a whack £150 for the sensor
washer pump gunked up stripped down and cleaned out filter gauze
rad pressure cap seized up grit had worked its way into seal, freed off, greased not happened since
front end bump that resulted in broken headlight clips £2.98 each from kia
few bulbs have blown
we went without the car last Christmas due to the injector seals failing. not a big crisis but whilst in kias care. they hydrolocked the engine and then snapped a glowplug whilst investigating further so car underwent a top end rebuild at 6years old/90k miles all at kias expense. kia uk were superb throughout and when the dealership needed their courtesy car back, kia uk put us in a hire car (brand new kia rio 1.0t spec 3) more on that later
so car had new timing chain kit, head gasket, new seals, new ecu, new injectors, new wiring loom
the plan was always to run the car to the end of the warranty and re-access the car/financial position. we've ended up running it out of warranty now and put a further 4k on it taking it to 104k miles. my missus has fallen in love with the new rios and we've just bought a 2017 rio 1.0t 2 spec which we pick up on the 4th January barring any mishaps. I was looking into possibly trading the rio in but the £1350 trade in offer didn't make me bite and I will continue to run the car now instead of my missus. I've ended up trading my megane tip car in for £750 instead it only cost me £250 a few months ago so effectively I've had £500 off the new car. for the £600 difference it wasn't worth losing the rio as I know the history of the car and know exactly where i'm upto with it
its absolutely filthy and has the odd car park battle scar but I feel it has stood up to 7 years/104k miles reasonably well.
it will require a little fettling at the next service which will be early into 2020. plan is to tart it up and when my current pcp deal is bought for my mum at end of deal jump into the rio and onwards towards 200k miles see what crops up
picture of megane that is being sacrificed against the new car
we've bought our new one from a different dealer as our relationship with the local dealer soured towards the end of the warranty. kia uk have been absolutely great and when mine and the dealers opinion differed some what they went above and beyond to ensure we were happy with the outcome.
any questions I will be happy to answer them honestly
sorry for the massive essay
bought this in march 2013 as a ex demo model with 400 miles on it for £10995. the model is spec 1 with the addition of air conditioning. so entry level spec with Bluetooth and aircon. funny thing was I actually went to the wrong dealer and was originally looking at a 2010 kia ceed diesel. the headline figures that won me over are free tax, insurance was peanuts, up to 88mpg. 7 year/100k mile warranty
came from a list of warm/hot hatches, the missus had just given birth to our first son and we were looking to get a house together so I ran the car for 2 years/20k miles. I genuinely thought the fuel gauge was broke for the first week of ownership as I was used to 200-250 miles to a tank full in previous cars. this car has seen 600 average to 40 litres of fuel and even upwards towards 800miles when taken on a long run. one thing I have noticed is running aircon has quite a big effect on fuel economy
there were some niggles most in the first 12 months but these were all sorted under warranty and at no expense to me
dashboard rattle x3
pedal box loose
sump gasket failed x2
wing mirror innards failed
interior light unit replaced
glow plugs failed
rear window regulators failed
injector seals leaking
boot struts weak
ball joint
eventually the car became my missus and I moved into sheds (106, 6x ignis, swift, fabia vrs) she has put a further 80k miles on the car.
I added cruise control to the car using genuine parts. interestingly I had to order from kia South Korea direct as UK dealers didn't recognise the part numbers in their systems. everything plug & play cost £52 delivered including import tax's etc...
second addition was a tuning box. every year going on holidays down south I would dread the a30 hills with the car fully loaded it just didn't have enough grunt to navigate them safely in my opinion. DTUK box was fitted and set on middle setting which made a reasonable difference to mid range grunt but no difference to economy.
bought a spare wheel kit for around £105 (no spare is just asking for trouble in my opinion)
car has been serviced every 10k using genuine parts and following the kia schedule service sheets
interim service oil, oil filter & pollen filter every 10k miles
major service every 20k carrying out the above and also fuel filter, air filter, brake fluid change, aircon re-gas, brakes stripped, cleaned & re-greased, wipers all round
car has never seen a main dealer for servicing and was never once rejected for warranty work. they asked to see the service book and invoices for the oil leaks to be rectified
interestingly dealers do not change the oil every 10k. its every 20k and major service is every 40k. I know a master tech in kia who informed me the big intervals were causing more problems than solving. given the cars reputation for dumping fuel into the sump after failed regens I decided every 10k miles would be best for longitivity
service bits are cheap but ive noticed anything that is unlikely to be covered by warranty is absolute stupid money. the aftermarket has started to cater for kias now the first batch of the 7year warranty cars come to the end of the warranty
on the kia forums, rising oil levels between servicing are a regular problem. mine did this once in-between services and was traced to a duff glow plug thus not doing regens as and when it should. it had to go in twice for this to be found as the cause. I had to diagnose the duff plug myself and tell them to test the plugs to acknowledge there was a fault present.
touch wood in over 100k miles we've not had a terminal DPF related problem the car does a passive regen every 250 miles or so and I check the live data pretty regular so I can catch any faults before the DPF gives any problems
consumables its had a set of front tyres every 20k miles approx. (I change them at approx. 3mm) backs every 40k miles although they had decent tread (5mm) they were cracking in the tread quite badly. car is still running the OEM Hankook tyres from new although they are now latest revision k435 instead of k425 & running 185/65/15 they certainly don't break the bank at replacement time
1 set of front discs & pads
2 sets of rear discs & pads
clutch changed at 90k miles due to heavy clutch pedal and worn/weak pressure plate
items that have required replacement not covered under warranty
oil level sensor damaged took a whack £150 for the sensor
washer pump gunked up stripped down and cleaned out filter gauze
rad pressure cap seized up grit had worked its way into seal, freed off, greased not happened since
front end bump that resulted in broken headlight clips £2.98 each from kia
few bulbs have blown
we went without the car last Christmas due to the injector seals failing. not a big crisis but whilst in kias care. they hydrolocked the engine and then snapped a glowplug whilst investigating further so car underwent a top end rebuild at 6years old/90k miles all at kias expense. kia uk were superb throughout and when the dealership needed their courtesy car back, kia uk put us in a hire car (brand new kia rio 1.0t spec 3) more on that later
so car had new timing chain kit, head gasket, new seals, new ecu, new injectors, new wiring loom
the plan was always to run the car to the end of the warranty and re-access the car/financial position. we've ended up running it out of warranty now and put a further 4k on it taking it to 104k miles. my missus has fallen in love with the new rios and we've just bought a 2017 rio 1.0t 2 spec which we pick up on the 4th January barring any mishaps. I was looking into possibly trading the rio in but the £1350 trade in offer didn't make me bite and I will continue to run the car now instead of my missus. I've ended up trading my megane tip car in for £750 instead it only cost me £250 a few months ago so effectively I've had £500 off the new car. for the £600 difference it wasn't worth losing the rio as I know the history of the car and know exactly where i'm upto with it
its absolutely filthy and has the odd car park battle scar but I feel it has stood up to 7 years/104k miles reasonably well.
it will require a little fettling at the next service which will be early into 2020. plan is to tart it up and when my current pcp deal is bought for my mum at end of deal jump into the rio and onwards towards 200k miles see what crops up
picture of megane that is being sacrificed against the new car
we've bought our new one from a different dealer as our relationship with the local dealer soured towards the end of the warranty. kia uk have been absolutely great and when mine and the dealers opinion differed some what they went above and beyond to ensure we were happy with the outcome.
any questions I will be happy to answer them honestly
sorry for the massive essay
Nickbrapp said:
Interesting read to see that it’s been quite troublesome but at least Kia have stumped the bill up, wonder if they cut corners during production and hope that most will be ok.
Good looking cars though
Yeah a few issues but nothing that left us at side of the road. Tbf the warranty jobs that had to be done more than once is more down to dealership quality rather than the car its self. Good looking cars though
It was a relatively new model and you always get little niggly bits. The dash board rattles and pedal box were rectified pretty quickly and effected a lot of rios.
The wing mirror innards were made of metal and rusted over time sending rusty marks down the door. Replaced with plastic innards again alot of rios effected.
Nothing has been scrutinzed too closely to be approved for warranty. Service record must be impeccable though.
Yeah a decent looking car I think. A nice set of wheels would set it off but my missus is strangely attracted to kerbs! So steel wheels and trims have served their purpose well.
The metallic red really pops when clean but the paint is typically eastern quality very very thin.
Edited by Ste372 on Saturday 28th December 17:51
MJK 24 said:
Great write up!
Is that an 1,100cc diesel? I wonder is that the smallest Diesel engine currently on sale...
What’s the power output? Car looks to be a weird size. Bigger than a Fiesta but smaller than a Focus.
Hi yes 1.1 diesel. They dropped the the 1.1 from the latest model and have now stopped doing diesel altogether.Is that an 1,100cc diesel? I wonder is that the smallest Diesel engine currently on sale...
What’s the power output? Car looks to be a weird size. Bigger than a Fiesta but smaller than a Focus.
Power wise. It's 75hp. With the tuning box around 95-100hp ish. Adequate for every day use. Will cruise happily at 70mph all day long.
Size wise it's a fiesta size. Comfortably fits 4 adults 5 at a push and boot is a decent ish size. Fits three decent size suitcases aswell
I’m actually tempted by one of these if I can’t find the source of the boost leak on my Volvo/if it turns out to be a failing turbo as expected. Quick maths based on 65mpg average (I do mainly motorway) puts it around £75 a month saved just on fuel.
What’s it like on the motorway, quiet and comfy enough?
What’s it like on the motorway, quiet and comfy enough?
Mr Tidy said:
That's a great review OP, and it sounds like you've done pretty well with your car too. 
I've always thought the Rio was a good looking car.
I hope the new one behaves as well.
It's done everything we have asked of it over the past 7 years. Even the missus has failed to destroy it! I've always thought the Rio was a good looking car.
I hope the new one behaves as well.
Hopefully the new one will behave its self.
I'll probably do the same with that one. Let the missus run it to 7 years and then take it off her hands again
Jbeale96 said:
I’m actually tempted by one of these if I can’t find the source of the boost leak on my Volvo/if it turns out to be a failing turbo as expected. Quick maths based on 65mpg average (I do mainly motorway) puts it around £75 a month saved just on fuel.
What’s it like on the motorway, quiet and comfy enough?
It's perfectly fine on motorway. I do Manchester to Exeter in one stint 252 miles. Never uses more than a 1/4 tank of fuel for that. Bit more on the way back up north. Engine is a little gruff under 2k revs. Typically common rail clatter. Don't expect a rocket ship. It's handy enough so you don't feel hung out to dry if you do a overtake but it certainly won't be pinning you back in the seat. What’s it like on the motorway, quiet and comfy enough?
I'd imagine a decent saving on the tax over the volvo as this is zero tax
Ste372 said:
It's perfectly fine on motorway. I do Manchester to Exeter in one stint 252 miles. Never uses more than a 1/4 tank of fuel for that. Bit more on the way back up north. Engine is a little gruff under 2k revs. Typically common rail clatter. Don't expect a rocket ship. It's handy enough so you don't feel hung out to dry if you do a overtake but it certainly won't be pinning you back in the seat.
I'd imagine a decent saving on the tax over the volvo as this is zero tax
Sounds pretty good, I’ve been reading reviews and they say it’s decently torquey for what it is. I'd imagine a decent saving on the tax over the volvo as this is zero tax
£245 a year saving on tax too, and probably a similar amount on insurance for a young lout like me.
A day of looking at turbo hoses awaits but I am currently weighing up the pros and cons of changing.
Jbeale96 said:
Sounds pretty good, I’ve been reading reviews and they say it’s decently torquey for what it is.
£245 a year saving on tax too, and probably a similar amount on insurance for a young lout like me.
A day of looking at turbo hoses awaits but I am currently weighing up the pros and cons of changing.
Yeah for what it is. It's perfectly fine for every day use. If you opt for one with any warranty remaining. Make sure the service schedule has been followed by the letter. They are a stickler for rejecting warranty claims in dubious service history £245 a year saving on tax too, and probably a similar amount on insurance for a young lout like me.
A day of looking at turbo hoses awaits but I am currently weighing up the pros and cons of changing.
finlo said:
Most people like to knock Korean stuff but the reality is they've caught up with and surpassed most European brands.
I think the fit and finish could be a lit bit better but having said that. I would agree the koreans have stepped their game up and I think the Germans have gone backwards with theirs slightly. I'll grab some pictures when you can actually see the seats & carpets. Missus and kids use it as a skip! Lucky some diamond bright guard on the seats and some cheap floor mats have left the carpet and Oem floor mats still in great nick after 7 years
Mum had two of these, first a red 2013 petrol (1.4 I believe) and then a 2017 with this very diesel engine in silver. Can't remember if hers was a '1' or a '2' in terms of spec.
I drove it a few times including local runs, trips from Grantham to Nottingham and a 160m round trip Hull.
Whilst it was an incredibly economical engine (I don't think it used more than £10 of diesel on said round trip), I did have a number of dislikes with it.
- Performance was adequate around town but it felt like it took about a year to get up to 70 when joining a motorway/DC.
- I'm pretty sure the dashboard was made out of sytrofoam
- Soundsystem was appalling
- Ride was unnecessarily harsh and crashy
She now has the new Ceed (1.0T) in '2' Spec which is miles ahead in terms of comfort, quality and refinement. All of my issues with the Rios have been resolved. If not for the fact that I'd rather go for something that's taken a bit more depreciation, I'd be hard pressed to not go for a 1.4T First Edition or GT Line S. The 1.0T has similar characteristics in terms of performance (I guess it's a thing with ultra low capacity engines with a turbocharger) in that I just felt like I was getting no power whatsoever when using the revs (admittedly it is something like 110bhp) overtaking on a single carriageway.
Not experienced the new Rio so can't comment on that one.
Either way, dead cheap motoring for someone less fussy than myself!
I drove it a few times including local runs, trips from Grantham to Nottingham and a 160m round trip Hull.
Whilst it was an incredibly economical engine (I don't think it used more than £10 of diesel on said round trip), I did have a number of dislikes with it.
- Performance was adequate around town but it felt like it took about a year to get up to 70 when joining a motorway/DC.
- I'm pretty sure the dashboard was made out of sytrofoam
- Soundsystem was appalling
- Ride was unnecessarily harsh and crashy
She now has the new Ceed (1.0T) in '2' Spec which is miles ahead in terms of comfort, quality and refinement. All of my issues with the Rios have been resolved. If not for the fact that I'd rather go for something that's taken a bit more depreciation, I'd be hard pressed to not go for a 1.4T First Edition or GT Line S. The 1.0T has similar characteristics in terms of performance (I guess it's a thing with ultra low capacity engines with a turbocharger) in that I just felt like I was getting no power whatsoever when using the revs (admittedly it is something like 110bhp) overtaking on a single carriageway.
Not experienced the new Rio so can't comment on that one.
Either way, dead cheap motoring for someone less fussy than myself!
I'll add in my own feelings on some of your reply
mholt1995 said:
Mum had two of these, first a red 2013 petrol (1.4 I believe) and then a 2017 with this very diesel engine in silver. Can't remember if hers was a '1' or a '2' in terms of spec.
I drove it a few times including local runs, trips from Grantham to Nottingham and a 160m round trip Hull.
Whilst it was an incredibly economical engine (I don't think it used more than £10 of diesel on said round trip), I did have a number of dislikes with it.
- Performance was adequate around town but it felt like it took about a year to get up to 70 when joining a motorway/DC.
Yes the engine can feel strangled especially if your going up hill or car is fully loaded. We were looking at the 1.4crdi with 89hp and more torque but decided to use a tuning box instead as I knew the car inside out and there is nothing wrong with it. Every car we went to look at either had dubious service history or Bodywork was not upto standard
- I'm pretty sure the dashboard was made out of sytrofoam
Apart from the rattle we encountered early on in buying. We're happy, OK not the best in terms of materials used but they have stood up to the test of time
- Soundsystem was appalling-
Yes I agree sounds very tinny but came with Bluetooth. I've had it easy as long as it plays music my missus is happy. I'll look to see if I can do some sensible upgrades if it starts to grate on me
- Ride was unnecessarily harsh and crashy.
Funnily enough my missus had a '2' spec which came with 16" alloy wheels, I'm sure they ran '50' profile tyres and I thought exactly the same. This '1' spec has 15" steel wheels with 185/65 tyres so a lot more give in the tyre. In over 100k miles only had one ball joint replaced on the suspension so it would appear it wears it quite well. Its not a sporty ride and will understeer quite easily if pushed on. Alot could be due to the eco tyres fitted though.
She now has the new Ceed (1.0T) in '2' Spec which is miles ahead in terms of comfort, quality and refinement. All of my issues with the Rios have been resolved. If not for the fact that I'd rather go for something that's taken a bit more depreciation, I'd be hard pressed to not go for a 1.4T First Edition or GT Line S. The 1.0T has similar characteristics in terms of performance (I guess it's a thing with ultra low capacity engines with a turbocharger) in that I just felt like I was getting no power whatsoever when using the revs (admittedly it is something like 110bhp) overtaking on a single carriageway.
I wanted to look at the new ceeds but my missus isn't comfortable with the extra size. Ideally she'd have a picanto size but two kids mean rio is the smallest size we'd get away with. Yes I totally agree we wanted a first edition or a '3' spec but the price difference was 2k on the second hand market all you got was heated seats, heated steering wheel, sat nav, few more sporty touches.
As regards the performance the 1.0t is around 118hp which will be more than adequate for my missus (as long as it starts, stops & goes she's happy)
Not experienced the new Rio so can't comment on that one.
Either way, dead cheap motoring for someone less fussy than myself!
I drove it a few times including local runs, trips from Grantham to Nottingham and a 160m round trip Hull.
Whilst it was an incredibly economical engine (I don't think it used more than £10 of diesel on said round trip), I did have a number of dislikes with it.
- Performance was adequate around town but it felt like it took about a year to get up to 70 when joining a motorway/DC.
Yes the engine can feel strangled especially if your going up hill or car is fully loaded. We were looking at the 1.4crdi with 89hp and more torque but decided to use a tuning box instead as I knew the car inside out and there is nothing wrong with it. Every car we went to look at either had dubious service history or Bodywork was not upto standard
- I'm pretty sure the dashboard was made out of sytrofoam
Apart from the rattle we encountered early on in buying. We're happy, OK not the best in terms of materials used but they have stood up to the test of time
- Soundsystem was appalling-
Yes I agree sounds very tinny but came with Bluetooth. I've had it easy as long as it plays music my missus is happy. I'll look to see if I can do some sensible upgrades if it starts to grate on me
- Ride was unnecessarily harsh and crashy.
Funnily enough my missus had a '2' spec which came with 16" alloy wheels, I'm sure they ran '50' profile tyres and I thought exactly the same. This '1' spec has 15" steel wheels with 185/65 tyres so a lot more give in the tyre. In over 100k miles only had one ball joint replaced on the suspension so it would appear it wears it quite well. Its not a sporty ride and will understeer quite easily if pushed on. Alot could be due to the eco tyres fitted though.
She now has the new Ceed (1.0T) in '2' Spec which is miles ahead in terms of comfort, quality and refinement. All of my issues with the Rios have been resolved. If not for the fact that I'd rather go for something that's taken a bit more depreciation, I'd be hard pressed to not go for a 1.4T First Edition or GT Line S. The 1.0T has similar characteristics in terms of performance (I guess it's a thing with ultra low capacity engines with a turbocharger) in that I just felt like I was getting no power whatsoever when using the revs (admittedly it is something like 110bhp) overtaking on a single carriageway.
I wanted to look at the new ceeds but my missus isn't comfortable with the extra size. Ideally she'd have a picanto size but two kids mean rio is the smallest size we'd get away with. Yes I totally agree we wanted a first edition or a '3' spec but the price difference was 2k on the second hand market all you got was heated seats, heated steering wheel, sat nav, few more sporty touches.
As regards the performance the 1.0t is around 118hp which will be more than adequate for my missus (as long as it starts, stops & goes she's happy)
Not experienced the new Rio so can't comment on that one.
Either way, dead cheap motoring for someone less fussy than myself!
Nice write up!
Have to admit Kia surprised me by their support. Wifes 67 plate was making some suspension squeeks at around 8k, only when cold etc. Booked in and dropped of and a phonecall a few hours later to say they couldn't replicate.
I was expecting the complete brush off (like normal dealerships) but I explained it only happened first thing in the morning when it was cold and to try again the next morning, they agreed but asked for their curtsey car back as it was booked out the next day. I had a call around 9:30am the next day to say the fault was found, parts ordered and it would be ready the next day.
On 22k now and can feel a DMF judder every so often but been a dream to own so far, just wish I got a bigger engine
Have to admit Kia surprised me by their support. Wifes 67 plate was making some suspension squeeks at around 8k, only when cold etc. Booked in and dropped of and a phonecall a few hours later to say they couldn't replicate.
I was expecting the complete brush off (like normal dealerships) but I explained it only happened first thing in the morning when it was cold and to try again the next morning, they agreed but asked for their curtsey car back as it was booked out the next day. I had a call around 9:30am the next day to say the fault was found, parts ordered and it would be ready the next day.
On 22k now and can feel a DMF judder every so often but been a dream to own so far, just wish I got a bigger engine
Ste372 said:
snip
Thinking about it, I think you're right as Mum's cars definitely had alloys so must have been a '2'Funnily enough, speaking of Picantos, funnily enough my Dad is on his second! First was a '66 1.25 GT Line which I borrowed off him to keep the miles down on my at-the-time leased Audi A4 which i'd gone massively over on. Did a trip from Peterborough to Heathrow (twice in one day as I managed to forget my passport at home!).
I much preferred it to the Rio, though the clutch felt really awful (I mentioned this to him and he eventually had the car in and a fault was found; had not driven the car since). Being petrol and NA, it was a bit more fun to really rag (but still felt on the slow side as you'd expect from a car barely pushing 80bhp) and get every last drop of power out of it.
Sound system was slightly better than the Rios as were the ride and the equipment (though I guess it would be, being several trim levels above). Sat at 70 in 5th with CC on comfortably enough.
He's got a newer one now, I think on a '69 and with the same engine, with much better standard equipment in some areas (LED DRLs, projector headlamps) but lacking in others (manual AC vs digital in the older one, no cruise control) so not really sure what happened there.
My Grandad also has a new Picanto (base spec), my Aunt has a '17 Carens (a really high spec one!) and my uncle also has a Picanto GT Line, just like my dad's old one! My family love their Kias...
strain said:
Nice write up!
Have to admit Kia surprised me by their support. Wifes 67 plate was making some suspension squeeks at around 8k, only when cold etc. Booked in and dropped of and a phonecall a few hours later to say they couldn't replicate.
I was expecting the complete brush off (like normal dealerships) but I explained it only happened first thing in the morning when it was cold and to try again the next morning, they agreed but asked for their curtsey car back as it was booked out the next day. I had a call around 9:30am the next day to say the fault was found, parts ordered and it would be ready the next day.
On 22k now and can feel a DMF judder every so often but been a dream to own so far, just wish I got a bigger engine
We've had a overall good experience. Had to get kia uk involved a couple of times due to not seeing eye to eye with the dealer but a overall good experience. Have to admit Kia surprised me by their support. Wifes 67 plate was making some suspension squeeks at around 8k, only when cold etc. Booked in and dropped of and a phonecall a few hours later to say they couldn't replicate.
I was expecting the complete brush off (like normal dealerships) but I explained it only happened first thing in the morning when it was cold and to try again the next morning, they agreed but asked for their curtsey car back as it was booked out the next day. I had a call around 9:30am the next day to say the fault was found, parts ordered and it would be ready the next day.
On 22k now and can feel a DMF judder every so often but been a dream to own so far, just wish I got a bigger engine
It'll be interesting to see how they are now their reputation is established and the cars seem to sell them selves instead of having to rely solely on the 7 year warranty to shift cars
mholt1995 said:
Thinking about it, I think you're right as Mum's cars definitely had alloys so must have been a '2'
Funnily enough, speaking of Picantos, funnily enough my Dad is on his second! First was a '66 1.25 GT Line which I borrowed off him to keep the miles down on my at-the-time leased Audi A4 which i'd gone massively over on. Did a trip from Peterborough to Heathrow (twice in one day as I managed to forget my passport at home!).
I much preferred it to the Rio, though the clutch felt really awful (I mentioned this to him and he eventually had the car in and a fault was found; had not driven the car since). Being petrol and NA, it was a bit more fun to really rag (but still felt on the slow side as you'd expect from a car barely pushing 80bhp) and get every last drop of power out of it.
Sound system was slightly better than the Rios as were the ride and the equipment (though I guess it would be, being several trim levels above). Sat at 70 in 5th with CC on comfortably enough.
He's got a newer one now, I think on a '69 and with the same engine, with much better standard equipment in some areas (LED DRLs, projector headlamps) but lacking in others (manual AC vs digital in the older one, no cruise control) so not really sure what happened there.
My Grandad also has a new Picanto (base spec), my Aunt has a '17 Carens (a really high spec one!) and my uncle also has a Picanto GT Line, just like my dad's old one! My family love their Kias...
Yeah a few people have bought them off the back of us having ours. Ideally we'd order a gt line 1.0t with dct gearbox. Eventually upgrade to that one I think if she likes the new one as much as this one & it behaves it's self Funnily enough, speaking of Picantos, funnily enough my Dad is on his second! First was a '66 1.25 GT Line which I borrowed off him to keep the miles down on my at-the-time leased Audi A4 which i'd gone massively over on. Did a trip from Peterborough to Heathrow (twice in one day as I managed to forget my passport at home!).
I much preferred it to the Rio, though the clutch felt really awful (I mentioned this to him and he eventually had the car in and a fault was found; had not driven the car since). Being petrol and NA, it was a bit more fun to really rag (but still felt on the slow side as you'd expect from a car barely pushing 80bhp) and get every last drop of power out of it.
Sound system was slightly better than the Rios as were the ride and the equipment (though I guess it would be, being several trim levels above). Sat at 70 in 5th with CC on comfortably enough.
He's got a newer one now, I think on a '69 and with the same engine, with much better standard equipment in some areas (LED DRLs, projector headlamps) but lacking in others (manual AC vs digital in the older one, no cruise control) so not really sure what happened there.
My Grandad also has a new Picanto (base spec), my Aunt has a '17 Carens (a really high spec one!) and my uncle also has a Picanto GT Line, just like my dad's old one! My family love their Kias...
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